Better Together
by Misfitcannon
Summary: Sapphire thought that all this drama was over and done with. She thought there'd be no more worrying about whether or not her crush liked her. She thought there'd be no more worrying about meeting the parents. And no more worrying about their relationship. She thought wrong. In this story Sapphire and Ruby are together and happy. But some people aren't happy that they're together.
1. Chapter 1

The Anniversary Date (Part 1; Prepare, Panic)

Sapphire was panicking. She had invited Ruby over for dinner at her apartment. It was their one year anniversary and she really wanted to make it special. She had planned it for weeks. She made sure everything was perfect.

1st _Find the nicest clothes_

2nd _Look up the most romantic dishes_

3rd _Buy the ingredients_

4th _Decorate the apartment_

5th _Hide everything from a nosy Ruby_

6th _Get dressed_

7th _Do hair and makeup_

8th _Cook and set plates, utensils, napkins, and wine glasses_

9th _Step back and check to make sure everything's perfect, including a quick makeup check_

10th _Wait for my love to get home and surprise her_

She thought she was prepared. But the most important thing she forgot about was the fact that she couldn't cook! She was so caught up in making it perfect that she spaced and forgot a detail that could ruin the whole meal. The meal itself!

She didn't know what to do. _Alright, you know that you can't do this by yourself,_ she thought, _maybe I can get someone to help me._

She sprinted into her room and grabbed her phone off the small lamp table that was next to her queen sized bed.

She turned on and unlocked her phone, quickly going into her contacts and scrolling down to find the name of the only person who she thought she could trust with this. When she got into the R's she pressed Rose's name.

She held the phone up to her ear and waited, listening to the soft song that played. To calm herself down she sang along.

 _"If I could, pretend to be, half of what you think of me, I could do about anything, I could even learn how to love."_

By the second verse she heard a smooth voice say "Hello?"

"Oh, Rose. Thank goodness!" she breathed out.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Rose asked confused at the younger girl's relieved tone.

"I _really_ need your help."

"With what? Wait-isn't it yours and Ruby's anniversary today?"

"Yes. And I made the worst mistake possible."

"I'm sure it can't be that bad-"

"I decided to cook."

"Oh god."

"So can you help? I'm still at home and I'm panicking. She'll be here in three hours!"

"I'll be right over. I'm going to bring Greg and Pearl too." She could hear Pearl groan in the background.

"Greg and Pearl are with you? As in in the same room? And they aren't killing each other?"

"Yeah, I'll explain when we get there. Bye."

"Bye."

She was putting her phone back on the table when she heard it ring. The phone played a little tune that she knew well. Looking down at the screen it confirmed what she already knew. Ruby's cute picture was on the screen. She hesitantly answered the phone.

"Hello?" she tried to sound as normal as possible.

"Hey," Ruby sounded happy.

"I-I'm glad you called."

"Of course I called. I haven't heard from you in a while, I was starting to get worried. Are you okay? Your voice sounds shaky." Sapphire's heart fluttered, she loved when Ruby called in to check on her.

"I'm okay, just a little tired."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Just excited for tonight."

"Me too. I can't wait to see what you're wearing." Ruby said in a seductive voice. Sapphire's cheeks turned a shade of darker blue.

"Or the cute blush that's probably on your face." Sapphire covered her cheek with the hand that wasn't holding the phone. She began to calm down. Hearing Ruby's voice made her feel more calm and a thousand times better.

"Ruby," she whined.

Ruby chuckled. "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. I'm going to be there early."

"H-How early?" she asked, panic rising again.

"Like an hour. The roads are like, completely clear and my mom said she doesn't need help with finding Dad a present for his birthday next week anymore."

"Oh, okay." She said, in shock.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Love you."

"Love you. Bye."

She stood there. She heard the phone cut off. She was mortified. Why was this happening to her? Why now?

"Please get here fast Rose." She plopped down on her bed and blew a raspberry. She was screwed, and sad.

Fifteen minutes later she heard a knock at the door.

She had been sitting there the whole time thinking about everything that could go worse.

She sprinted to the door and turned the knob, yanking the door open.

An irritated Pearl, an annoyed Greg, and an edgy Rose were standing in front of her.

"Hello." Rose said her voice stiff, a strained smile on her pinkish face.

"Hi. Come in." The stressed out blue flower stepped away from the door. Rose walked through, Greg quickly following her. Pearl shoved him aside and walked faster so she was beside Rose. Sapphire sighed.

Sapphire walked up to Rose on her other side and led them to the couch. Pearl and Sapphire sat on both sides of Rose, Greg was stuck standing in front of them. Which he was not happy about, which was pretty easy to tell by the frown on his face.

Sapphire just rolled her eyes,but she knew they didn't see it because her bangs were covering her eyes. That reminded her, she still needed to do her hair. She knew Ruby liked seeing her eyes. She got up, offering her seat to Greg which he gladly sat in.

Sapphire stood in front of them, nervously fiddling with her fingers.

"Okay," Rose sighed out exasperatedly, "So what were you planning on doing?"

"Well, I wanted to cook her dinner. And a nice dessert. Then maybe watch a movie after."

"Okay, that shouldn't be too hard." Rose smiled reassuringly.

"It wouldn't be if I _knew_ how to cook. I really want this day to be perfect. Please help me." She practically begged.

"Wait this is for Ruby, right?" Greg asked.

"Of course."

"So then why are you going through all of this? She already knows you love her. She would just watch a movie with you and call it a day."

"I know," she looked down at blue slippers. "I just…she makes me feel all gooey inside. Every time I see her I just want to kiss her. I love her. And I know she doesn't ask for much from me. But I want to show her how much I love her. How she makes me feel. Every time when I'm with her, she makes me feel special...Hopefully this will show her how much she means to me."

"That's the first time I've heard you express your feelings like that." Rose said, a sweet smile on her face.

"Mine too. And I've known you forever." said Pearl, who was looking at her strangely.

"When it comes to Ruby, I'm not afraid to express my love for her. She makes me brave. I remember when I asked her out. I was terrified. But for some reason her cute smirk and big eyes made me feel like I could conquer all my fears, like I could face the world, like I could ask out an intimidating girl without feeling like I'm about to faint from anxiety."

"You've really grown up." said Rose.

"Yeah. I guess I have."

"Now let's get to cooking."


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter will be a little fluffy. Drama will pick up a little closer to Thanksgiving. And for anyone who is reading the AN, I won't be updating this often. I only updated so early because I'm trying to make it before Thanksgiving.**

The Anniversary Date (Part 2; "We'll go")

It had been an hour since Rose, Pearl and Greg came over to help her set up for her and Ruby's anniversary.

Sapphire wiped her sweaty forehead. She had been sweating like a pig with all the heat and steam that was filling the kitchen. By now she knew she probably sweat all her makeup off her face. She had to touch it up fast before Ruby got there.

Her and Rose had been working hard. The meal was only halfway done though, and there just wasn't enough time for them to finish. Greg was done setting the table. And to avoid having to have any sort of interaction with Greg Pearl busied herself with consistently shifting the decorations, making everything line up perfectly.

"This is horrible. How can Ruby cook those delicious meals for me so often without looking like a hot mess afterward?" Sapphire asked exhausted.

"She's just that good." Rose said, pouring the pot of steamed asparagus in a colander over the sink.

Sapphire sighed. She was so tired, and scared, and…in love. She went back to cutting up onions and blinking the burn away.

Ruby parked right in front of the large apartment building. She looked up at it and smiled. She was looking forward to this "surprise" Sapphire had for her. She reached to the back seat and pulled out the bouquet of light pink peonies and the neatly wrapped present with a red bow placed on top. She was banned from the Sapphire's apartment for days. She figured Sapphire was planning something big.

She really missed her. With both of their careers they hardly got to see each other anyways. She really wanted to kiss her, hold her, and tell her how much she loves her.

She was so in love with the blue girl she couldn't believe it. She'd do anything for Sapphire.

She opened her door and stepped out. She made her way to the building.

Sapphire was at the verge of crying. From both the onions and the stress.

Sapphire and Rose had been cooking for what seemed like days. They were both sweating like pigs and were moving like zombies. Even though Sapphire knew that Ruby probably didn't expect so much out of her she still wanted to do something special. Something that was unexpected out of her. And she thought that just seeing that cute little smirk on Ruby's face was worth the exhaustion.

No one heard the door unlocking or the jingling keys or the loud footsteps.

Ruby walked through the door, her eyes wide. What she smelled was delicious. She never expected such a nice smelling scent to hit her nose in Sapphire's home. It smelt like food, and not the burnt kind she usually smelled when she came over near dinner time. Don't get her wrong Sapphire's apartment usually smelt good, but always like perfume.

Ruby's loud footsteps turned to light tiptoes. She put the flowers and gift gently down on the kitchen counter

The fact that Sapphire hadn't heard her yet worried Ruby. _She must really be invested in making this meal perfect._ She smiled, all this work for a girl like Ruby. She was the luckiest girl in the world.

She quietly made her way behind Sapphire, getting closer and closer. This made Ruby frown. Sapphire could usually tell when Ruby was at least a foot away from her. Right now she was a few inches away and Sapphire still didn't seem to notice. Even when she was working in the apartment and looked like nothing in the world could distract her, she still called Ruby out.

When she was right behind her she wrapped her arms around Sapphire's midriff, burying her face in Sapphire's long hair, smelling the nice vanilla scent.

Sapphire squeaked, startled and mortified because she knew exactly who was behind her.

"Oh no. Ruby…this was supposed to be a surprise." Sapphire said glumly. She put the knife down on the kitchen counter and turned around in her lover's embrace.

"I'm sorry." Sapphire continued, feeling like everything was ruined. She wrapped her arms around Ruby.

"Why are you sorry?"

"I couldn't make a simple meal for you. I look a mess. I guess my thirst for perfection blinded me."

"First off, you look beautiful, always. Second, this meal is not simple, from what I can see you both got a lot done in the amount of time you had. And third, everything you've done for me has been perfect."

"Really?" she said hopefully, her wide blue eyes staring into Ruby's red-brown ones.

"Sapph, you know I would have loved anything you did. You exceeded my standards. This is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. You went all out. And I would kiss you right now if we didn't have an audience." Ruby said smiling, stepping back, her arms still around Sapphire, she looked at Rose who had stopped dicing tomatoes to look at the cute scene before her with a smile on her face. She looked over to the living room area to see Greg also looking at them, a smile on his face, and Pearl, who seemed satisfied that she didn't have to be there any longer since the main reason for all this rushing was here, rolled her eyes but had a smile on her face as well.

Sapphire looked at her friends and laughed.

"There's my laughy Sapphy." Ruby said smiling. Sapphire leaned down a bit and pressed her lips to Ruby's, both of them smiling into the kiss.

Ruby pulled back and sighed unhappily, "I really want to keep doing this but I _really_ have to use the bathroom." Sapphire laughed again and let Ruby go. She watched her as she walked away into the bathroom. When the bathroom door was closed she turned back to her helpers.

"Thank you guys," she said, her voice sounding relieved of stress and anxiety.

"You're welcome. But I'm sorry we didn't get to finish making the meal. I hope you have a nice anniversary." Rose said, her smile brighter than before.

"I'm going to the car," Pearl told Rose and Sapphire. They both nodded, Sapphire saying goodbye.

"Oh, so why was both of them with you?" Sapphire asked recalling their talk on the phone.

"Well, I tried to have a talk with them about maybe getting along but neither wanted to cooperate. Those were the most exhausting hours of my life."

"Worse than this?"

"Way worse." Rose giggled. She walked over to the door where Greg and Pearl were arguing about who got to sit with Rose.

"Alright, alright. Calm down, or I'm walking home by myself." Rose said rolling her eyes, her smile _still_ on her face.

"But don't forget, this day is about you too." She walked over to the Kitchen counter and carefully picked up the peonies and gift. She walked back over to Sapphire and held the presents out to her.

"I know this isn't much compared to your gift for me but…I hope you still like it." She said timidly, looking up at Sapphire with cute puppy dog eyes.

Sapphire beamed at her girlfriend. Ruby had gotten her favorite flowers (which were pretty expensive) and a mystery present that she was itching to open.

She brought the pink flowers up to her nose and breathed in their rose-like smell.

"These are beautiful," she sighed out. Ruby took the flowers out of Sapphire's hand and gently laid them back on the counter.

"Now unwrap it." She said pointing to the wrapped box Sapphire still held in her hand.

Sapphire tore off the bow and wrapping paper and put them next to the flowers. Under the decorations was a box. Sapphire lifted the top off the box. Her breath hitched.

In that box was a necklace. A shiny gold thin chain with a heart attached to it. She picked it up out of the box and put the box with everything else. She saw a hinge on the side of the heart. _She got me a locket,_ Sapphire thought _._

She looked up to see Ruby blushing like crazy.

"Ruby," she said, her breath taken away.

"Didn't you say you were tired?" Ruby asked desperately trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, I could fall asleep standing." Sapphire said smiling, her face practically splitting in two.

"How about we go into your room and watch those movies."

The only reason Sapphire even had a TV in her room was for when Ruby came over and they wanted to watch movies and reruns of Adventure Time together, and because she got a good deal on it. That was the only TV in her apartment.

"Okay, that's sounds nice…and…not exhausting," she said wiping her forehead. She smiled at Ruby. Her amazing little ball of fire.

"Before we go, can you help me put this on?" she asked holding the necklace out towards Ruby.

"S-Sure." she stammered out, taking the necklace out of her hands and walking around her. Ruby swung her arms over Sapphire's head holding the necklace tightly.

Sapphire pushed her hair over her shoulder.

Ruby clasped it and pulled Sapphire's hair back where it laid before.

She took Sapphire's hand and threaded their fingers. She pulled Sapphire into the room and sat her down on her bed.

"I'll finish dinner. You set up the movies."

"They're already set up." Sapphire said, getting up.

"Then lay down and rest." Ruby pushed Sapphire back down on the bed and kissed her forehead.

She walked out the room after sending Sapphire a wink and started on finishing dinner.

Thirty minutes later Ruby walked into the room and collapsed on the bed next to a resting Sapphire.

"Hey babe." Ruby said, wrapping her arms around Sapphire and kissing her on the cheek.

"I was just getting to sleep." Sapphire complained, rolling over to face Ruby.

"Are you mad at me?" Ruby asked, sticking her bottom lip out in a pout.

"Furious." Her smile begged to differ.

Ruby laughed, "Play the movie, weirdo."

Sapphire laughed with her and pressed play to the paused movie on the wide screen TV. They watched the movie until they heard a beep. Sapphire paused the movie as Ruby got up to go turn off the oven and pull out dinner.

Ten minutes later Ruby came back in with two plates with baked lobster and diced tomatoes and asparagus.

"You're meal turned out amazing." Ruby said carefully sitting down on the bed and placed the plates on hers and a now sitting up Sapphire's lap.

"You did all the work."

"Sapph, you did way more than I did."

"With the help of Rose. I definitely didn't do that by myself. And without you this meal probably would have turned out charred and nasty."

"Probably."

"Hey!" she punched a laughing Ruby's arm.

"Ow! I was just kidding, jeez." she said rubbing her probably bruised arm.

"Watch the movie, Muscles."

"What are we doing for Thanksgiving?" Sapphire asked putting their empty plates on the lamp table next to her bed and taking the disc out of the DVD player.

"I don't know. Come back." She said reaching her arms out to her. Sapphire giggled and walked back over, hopping back on the bed.

"Doesn't your family usually have a big Thanksgiving dinner?"

"Yeah. But you know why we can't go. It would just be so dramatic. And either way I don't think you'll like my family grilling you about our relationship."

"Yeah," she agreed, "Well, we should get some sleep."

"Mmkay." Ruby snuggled into Sapphire.

Sapphire sighed and held Ruby closer. She'd be fine with this being their Thanksgiving. But maybe with a lot less clothes.

Sapphire woke up to the smell of bacon. She blinked and looked beside her. Her bedmate was no longer snoring beside her.

With a groan she sat up. Her covers slipped down and looking down she saw that she was still wearing the dark blue low-cut dress. She looked down to the side of her bed. Her black heels were neatly placed on the floor next to her. She smiled. Ruby knew how she liked things organized.

She quickly threw off the blanket and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. As quietly as she could, she made her way into the kitchen. When she saw Ruby she stopped walking.

Ruby was at the stove flipping a pancake. On the counter beside her Sapphire saw two plates with bacon and eggs on them. That was a little confusing. Ruby was a pretty big eater but she didn't usually have pancakes, especially not with bacon and eggs.

Sapphire crept forward until she was right behind Ruby. She slowly wrapped her arms around her midriff.

Ruby smiled. "Morning Sapph."

"Mmhm." Sapphire had totally forgotten that she had morning breath.

Ruby just chuckled.

She got a spatula and shuffled the pancake off the pan, sliding it onto a plate. She turned around in Sapphire's embrace and hugged her girlfriend, her face in the crook of Sapphire's neck.

Feeling relieved that Sapphire wouldn't smell her morning breath she decided to address the pancake.

"So what's with the pancakes?"

"I don't think you're going to like it."

"It can't be that bad." Sapphire said, rubbing her back.

"I invited my mom."

"For breakfast?" she asked, her voice shaking, worried.

"Yeah. There wasn't any other time she could be here. And her phone isn't working, her home phone got busted too. She works until midnight, she took extra hours. And you have to work. So I suggested that we could maybe talk in the morning."

"Why today? Why not a day when none of us have work, and your mother didn't just wake up, and I didn't look a mess?"

"First off, you always look amazing," that granted her a cute blush that she couldn't see but knew was on her girlfriend's face. "And today, because my mother works this whole week, I figured we'd just get this over with as soon as possible. Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I really want her to understand why we can't go. And either way my mother's always a grouch. Worse than me. Doesn't matter what time she woke up." She pulled away stepping back with a sweet, reassuring smile on her face.

"I know you're probably a little unnerved that my mother's coming over, especially so early in the morning. But don't worry, because you don't need her approval. And I do want you and my mom to get along. But not if it makes you uncomfortable." Sapphire opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Ruby. "And I know it does, so don't even lie and say it doesn't."

Sapphire put her hand over her mouth to stop her breath from making it over to Ruby nose.

"I guess I should go get ready then. Love you."

"Love you too." Ruby tugged her hand away from her mouth and leaned in, giving her a sweet kiss that made Sapphire tingle.

Sapphire smiled as Ruby pulled back. Ruby turned back around to the stove and turned the bacon.

Still smiling to herself she walked into the bathroom to freshen up.

They were both sitting at the table in the dining room area, eating their bacon and eggs, the pancakes still on the counter in the kitchen.

Sapphire wore a light blue T-shirt and a black skirt with purple flats. Ruby wore a maroon tank top and tight black shorts with black sneakers, her usual head band on.

There was a knock at the door.

Ruby looked up at Sapphire.

"Here it goes," Sapphire sighed out, worry clear on her face.

Ruby got up to answer the door, swallowing her food.

She opened the door slowly.

"Good morning sweetheart." The woman that stood on the other side of the door pushed it open all the way and stepped in.

"Hi, Mom." she replied giving her mother a quick hug.

"Morning Amaryllis." Sapphire said waving at her girlfriend's mother with a tight smile.

"Hello Sally."

"It's Sapphire Mom." Ruby said frowning at her mom.

Ruby's mom looked a lot like her. They both had little noses, big mouths, and big short hair. Amaryllis had on a magenta dress and black heels. She was more sophisticated than you'd expect a woman with a kid like Ruby would be.

"Of course. Now, why am I here Ruby?"

Ruby sighed. She knew her mother would be like this.

"Well, first, I made you some pancakes. So let's talk sitting and eating." she said going back to her seat in the dining area.

Her mother just nodded and picked up the plate that was on the kitchen counter with pancakes on it.

She walked over to the table and sat at the round table her daughter and her girlfriend were sitting at and sat between them.

"Okay, so now why am I here?"

"Well. You already know we're not going to the Thanksgiving dinner."

"Yeah," her mother said trying to get her to get on with.

"I just want you to know _why_ we can't go."

"Why is that?" Amaryllis said. Ruby knew she already knew why.

"Because our family isn't too fond with mine and Sapphire's relationship. You know that. Why are you acting like you don't know what's going on?" Ruby asked, putting her fork down a little harder than needed.

"I'm trying not to make such a big deal out of your little relationship with your g-girlfriend." Amaryllis argued, stuttering out the last word, not used to it. Not for her only daughter at least.

"Mom, I love Sapphire. I want you to support our relationship. And even if you did the rest of the family won't."

"You won't know that until you go."

"We're not going." Ruby stared hard at her mother, not backing down. Her mother stared right back, just as stubborn.

Sapphire just kept looking back and forth. She sighed out, she thought maybe there was a way to resolve this.

She knew Ruby was not going to be happy.

"We'll go."

"What?!" Ruby practically screamed looking over at Sapphire, her eyes wide.

"Great-" Amaryllis started but was interrupted by Sapphire.

"We'll go, but if we don't feel welcomed we're leaving."

"Fine." Amaryllis agreed. She stood up and walked over to the door.

"Well I'm off. Thanks for breakfast." She said as she closed the door.

"Are you sure about this?" Ruby asked Sapphire once the door was closed.

"Yes. We should at least try. I know that this is risky. But what's the worst that could happen?"

"You seriously just jinxed us."

"Oh please." Sapphire laughed.

"She didn't even _touch_ the pancakes." Ruby complained.

"Well, we could save them for tomorrow."

"Okay. I'll feed you."

"You're weird."

"I thought I was Muscles."

"You're always Muscles. But sometimes you're just weird."

"This conversation is weird."

"Yeah, well the conversations we're going to be having with your family tomorrow are probably going to be weird and awkward."

"Hopefully it won't be _so_ bad."

They were in for one hell-of-a ride.

 **There might be a few grammar errors. I know that it's the Thanksgiving day, but, this took awhile to write. I'll try to make another chapter on or after Thanksgiving.**

 **Please review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanksgiving**

"You know I could drive us back home right now, if you want?" Ruby said, trying to comfort a stiff Sapphire.

"No, no. It's alright. It's important that I face my fears. I can do this. I have to do this." Sapphire said looking straight forward out the wide window in front of them.

"O-K. I'm just sayin'." She glanced at Sapphire, a sad smile on her face. Sapphire was doing so many things out of her comfort zone. All for her. Ruby decided that she was going to have to make it up to her.

Ruby pulled into a long driveway, four other cars already there. She parked behind one of the cars and looked over at Sapphire.

"You ready?" she asked, trying to be as soft with her raspy voice as she could. Sapphire looked over at the big house the car was parked next to. Through the windows she saw laughing people, all having at least a hint of red, if not all red. She'd stick out like a sore thumb.

"I'm ready." She looked back at Ruby and gave her a sweet smile that Ruby quickly returned.

"I'll try to be by your side the entire time." Ruby told her, again in that raspy soft voice she used before.

Ruby took her hand, "I love you."

Sapphire's smile widened. "I love you too. Let's go."

They both opened their doors and got out. Sapphire opened the back car door and reached in the backseat taking out a bowl with elastic covering the top.

"Here, I'll take that." Ruby offered, already reaching for the bowl. Sapphire let her have it. She reached into the backseat again and took out a small black cardboard box with a white ribbon neatly wrapped around the box and tied in a bow on top.

"Sapphire, you didn't have to get my grandmother a present." Ruby told her, carefully balancing the bowl on the palms of her hands.

"It's was her birthday yesterday and I didn't get her anything." Sapphire replied, shutting the door with one hand, the box in her other.

"Sapph, she didn't expect you to get her anything and she still doesn't."

"I know Ruby. I want to do this for us."

"Sapphire…" Ruby sighed.

"I know you don't think I need your family's approval. But to me, if we were to ever…you know…plan to say our 'I dos' I'd want the 'okay' from your family."

Ruby smiled. This was the first time Sapphire had brought up marriage. Though if this was what Sapphire has been worried about all this time than Ruby assumed she's been thinking about it for a little while now. That made Ruby smile wider.

Sapphire's eyes widened, realizing too late what had come out of her mouth.

"I-I mean-not that I've been thinking about that-marrying you. I…I…um-"

Ruby cut her off with a swift peck to her babbling mouth.

"Come on, Gran will start to worry. She loves cranberry sauce. And presents."

Sapphire stared at her for a second, trying to recollect her scrambled thoughts.

By the time Sapphire came back to the present she saw Ruby walking to the front door of the house, up the long staircase. Sapphire quickly followed her, hopping up the steps.

When they made it to the door they could hear loud Christmas music playing loudly, the roar of hysterical laughter, and screaming children. Ruby shifted the bowl so that she was holding it in the crook of her arm on her side.

She looked back at Sapphire. Sapphire looked like a statue.

"Breathe." Ruby advised.

She turned back around and reached her hand up to the side of the door where there was a small rectangular button. She pressed it and heard a faint _dingdong_.

The noise on the other side of the door stopped. They heard the click-clacking of the sharp heels of a pair of shoes.

Seconds later the green door swung open, revealing a young girl, a little younger than Ruby and Sapphire, standing in front of them. She had on a dark red dress with small hints of a lighter red, on the collar and the folded sleeves. There was a taunting smile on her face, making her look devilish, along with her red face and sparkling dark red eyes.

"Ruby! We were wondering when you'd get here." She practically yelled in excitement.

"Yeah, there was a little traffic." Ruby explained, an apologetic smile on her face.

The girl looked over at Sapphire and looked her over. "I see you brought over…Sapphire is it?"

"Yes." Sapphire tried to answer as politely as possible. The way the girl was looking at her made her want to ask her if there was something wrong with her eyes.

Ruby, seeing how uncomfortable her girlfriend was, decided to intervene.

"Sapphire this is Siam, my cousin, Siam this is my girlfriend Sapphire."

Sapphire looked down at the girl's black high heel shoes and then up to her dress and up-do hairstyle. Was she underdressed? She looked down at her own clothes. A navy blue short sleeved dress, black flats and black stud earrings. She left her hair down, simply brushed. This was how she usually dressed.

She looked over at Ruby's clothes. She had on what she usually wore. She had on her usual red tank top and darker red boots. The only thing that was different was the fact that she was wearing the tight black jeans that Sapphire had bought for her weeks ago. Sapphire knew that once she looked at those jeans, it would be hard to look anywhere else. Why'd she have to wear them today of all days?

"It's nice to meet you." Sapphire said, reluctantly turning from the back of Ruby's pants and to the girl she was introduced to, she held out a hand.

Siam took it and shook it fast before letting it go. "You too," she turned around, and yelled to everyone inside the house, "Everyone! Ruby's here!"

They heard cheering and "Hi Ruby!" from every red person standing and sitting in the large house. Seconds later the Christmas music started playing again and the noise of the excited family erupted through the house again.

She watched as Ruby smiled and blushed. Sapphire has only seen her act like that when she was happy and embarrassed. It was a look she saw only when they were alone. The thought that only her and Ruby's family got to see that cute expression her face made her heart flutter and a small smile grace her face.

Sapphire never had a big family. It was only her, her dad, and her mom. Her dad moved around for work and her mom didn't take it very well. Sapphire practically had to raise herself. Ruby was the only person she knew would always be there for her.

Siam whirled back around and grabbed onto Ruby's arm, pulling her into the house. She took the bowl out of Ruby's arm and handed it over to someone wearing a stained apron. Stumbling forward Ruby looked apologetically back at her girlfriend. Sapphire gave a reassuring shaky smile back. Before Ruby could give her a smile back she was pulled around a corner and out of sight.

Sapphire sighed. Why did she convince herself that this was a good idea? Facing her fears? More like jumping into a nightmare. She stepped into the house and closed the door behind her.

She looked down at the small black box in her hands. _Well_ , she thought, _I guess I should try to find Ruby's grandmother. This should be fun._

"Sapphire!" Startled Sapphire looked to the general direction she heard her name.

She saw a short red girl beaming at her. It took Sapphire only a second to realize that the small girl a few feet in front of her was Carnelian. Carnelian was Ruby's first cousin. She was also the first family member of Ruby's she ever met.

Carnelian ran over, zigzagging through the tight crowd, her dark red curls bouncing around her.

Once Carnelian was close enough she tightly wrapped her arms around Sapphire.

Sapphire returned the hug with a smile and a sigh of relief. She was so relieved that there was someone here who actually liked her. Besides Ruby of course.

Carnelian stepped back and looked Sapphire up and down.

"Lookin' good Sapph."

"You too. Your dress is really pretty." Sapphire replied politely, looking at Carnelian's purple, flowy dress and then looking down to her black heels and back up to her face.

"Thank you." She looked around. "Um, did Ruby just leave you here?"

"Not…really. She was pulled away by Siam." Sapphire tried her best not to sound too upset about Ruby leaving her to fend for herself against the forces of her family.

"Ugh," Carnelian groaned, "Siam always wants Ruby's attention. We keep telling her that sooner or later Ruby's gonna get irritated. But does she listen? Nope."

"How come Siam seemed so…displeased with me."

"Oh that," she put her hands on her hips, "Well Siam isn't the most forgiving gal. And she thinks that you took Ruby away from the family. She thinks that that's why Ruby hasn't been coming over as much as she used to. Again we keep trying to tell her that Ruby will get irritated. Girl's got a real bad temper. You already know that, obviously. But again does she listen? Uh-uh."

"Maybe I should talk to her?" That wasn't really something she wanted to do but she thought that maybe she could get Siam to understand why Ruby kind of cut them off.

"I do not think that's a good idea. She can be a little abrasive."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Well, do you know where Ms. Tourmaline might be?"

"Yeah she should be in the kitchen helping with dinner. Why?"

"I got her something. For her birthday." Sapphire held out the box.

"Really? Wow. What'd you get her?" Carnelian asked excitedly, now turning her beam to the box.

"It's not much. Just something I saw in the window of a store and I thought it was nice."

"Stop selling yourself short. It's really sweet that you got her anything at all. Now show me!" Carnelian encouraged sternly.

"Okay, okay." Sapphire pulled the end of the bow, unraveling it. She pulled off the lid. Carnelian leaned over the box, peeking in.

"Oooh. That's pretty Sapphire. Gran'll love it."

"Thanks, I-"

"It's dinner time!" Someone from another room yelled into the large room they were in, interrupting Sapphire and causing the room to go into ruckus. The crowd of family started heading into another room. Sapphire quickly laid the lid back on the box and hurriedly tied the white ribbon into a bow, trying to make it as neat as possible.

"Come on. You can sit next to me and I'll make sure the seat on your other side isn't taken so Rubes can sit in it."

"Thanks," before she could get anything else out she was swept away by the sea of people.

Carnelian quickly caught up to her and slipped her arm into Sapphire's, guiding her to a seat at the looong table.

Carnelian pushed her down into a chair and then plopped down into the one next to hers.

Sapphire looked high and low for her short girlfriend. After a while she decided to look on foot. As nerve wracking as this experience was Ruby's safety was way more important to her than nervousness, and Ruby being gone for so long got her worried.

"Carnelian can you save mine and Ruby's seats. I'm going to see if I can go find her." Sapphire asked already standing.

"Sure. But try to get back quick." Sapphire began her search, still holding on to that box.

She decided to start upstairs. She figured that since everyone was downstairs, upstairs shouldn't be as crowded and it would be easier to find her short fireball.

Once up the stairs she knocked on the first door in the long hallway. Not getting an answer she decided to move to the next door.

Her fist was raised and about to knock on the wooden door when she heard muffled laughs in what she assumed was on the other side of the door. She heard a certain chuckle that she knew was Ruby's. She suddenly heard that chuckle turn into a yelp and panic made her move her hand down to the door knob, turn it and pushed it open.

What Sapphire saw made her feel a sharp pang of jealousy.

Siam and Ruby were both on the floor, Siam on top of Ruby, holding her arms over her head. They were surrounded by pillows.

Wait why was she jealous? Siam was her _cousin_.

But they were in a pretty compromising position. And their faces were a bit too close for Sapphire's liking.

Sapphire not liking anything that was happening loudly cleared her throat.

Their laughing stopped, smiles left on their faces. At least Ruby's when she looked over at the blue girl. Once Siam saw her she immediately seemed to put on an emotionless mask.

"Hey Sapph." Ruby chortled out.

"Hi. Dinner's ready." And with that she walked out.

"We'll be right down!" she heard Ruby yell.

On the way down the long stairway she thought about what had just happened. She didn't know why she felt so…territorial. She knew Ruby wasn't _hers_. She just felt angry. Kind of betrayed. And she knew she was overreacting. She decided to just try and get through dinner and think about this later.

Once she got into the dining room she looked around for her seat. She giggled when she saw Carnelian. She was laying on her stomach across the three chairs and shooing away anyone who came close or asked if they could sit there. She made her way over and tapped Carnelian o her shoulder.

"Back off buddy." Carnelian growled, not bothering to turn around to see who it was.

"Aw, I thought we were friends." Sapphire said playfully.

"Oh, hey Sapph." She rolled off the chairs, bending over so that she didn't fall and sat back in-between two chairs. Once she was sitting up right she slid over to her individual chair and patted the one next to her.

Sapphire, understanding the gesture, sat down.

"So did you find Ruby?"

"Yes. She was hanging out with Siam." That came out a bit more sour than she meant it to.

"Why do you sound so disdained? Wait," Carnelian's eyes grew wide. "Are you jealous?!" Carnelian stage whispered.

"N-Um-I-I don't know. Yes?" she answered honestly.

"Wow today you're not yourself. So nervous and insecure." She hated that that was exactly how she felt. Nervous and insecure. Among other things.

"I'm just a tad overwhelmed."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I see Ruby walking over."

Sapphire looked around and saw a happy Ruby walking over to her. Behind her trailed a bored looking Siam.

Ruby slid into the chair next to Sapphire and kissed her quick on the cheek.

Everyone seemed to be seated and ready to eat. Minutes later a bunch of children came in holding warm plates of food and setting them on the table in front of the many guests. The utensils and glasses had already been set on the table beforehand.

"Thank you." Sapphire said when a small boy slid a plate on the table.

When a tall, young girl put a plate in front of Ruby she replied with a, "Thanks, Toot."

Sapphire gave her a look, Ruby just shrugged and started eating.

A woman came around the table with a wine bottle in one hand and a gallon of Hawaiian punch in the other.

"You guys don't say what you're thankful for, or something?" Sapphire asked, putting her hand on Ruby's to get her attention away from the turkey and to her.

"Occasionally. But usually only when the whole family is here."

"The _whole_ family. This isn't the whole family?"

Ruby laughed. "No."

Sapphire groaned and decided to just start eating.

She kept hearing giggling and noises next to her. After two minutes she couldn't take it anymore so she looked over to Ruby see what all the obnoxious noise was about. She saw Ruby making faces and laughing at someone across the table. She followed Ruby's eyes and saw none other than Siam.

She really needed to talk to Ruby.

Tapping her on the shoulder she started a conversation she been dying to have with her for almost half of the time they were there. "So, you and Siam seemed to have a lot of fun."

"Yeah. We had a _pillow fight_. I haven't done that since I was ten."

"Uh-huh. So, I was just wondering how, um, close you two are."

"Well, we've known each other since we were…Eight I think? We aren't really cousins. That's just what we call each other." Ruby said, trying to keep the chewed up peas in her mouth as she spoke.

For some reason that did not make her feel any better about what she saw upstairs.

"Oh, okay." Sapphire spaced out, looking

"Hey babe? Are you okay? We can leave a little early if you like?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm okay."

Ruby did not believe a single word she said. "I can tell when you're uncomfortable. We're leaving once we're done eating."

Ruby leaned in close, "I'll relieve your stress when we get to your place." She whispered. Sapphire shivered. She could smell the red wine on her breath. Sapphire could tell that Ruby saw her reaction by the satisfied smirk on her face. Sapphire just rolled her eyes and took a sip of her wine.

#

"I hope the meal filled you up little Ruby." said a woman with red hair orange hair and red skin. The woman was older. It showed in the white hairs that were peeking from the loose bun.

They were all standing at the door. They had finished eating and were exhausted from all the delicious food.

"Most definitely. Thanks for inviting me and Sapphire."

"I would have forced you both to come either way. And I'm happy Ruby brought you Sapphire."

"Thank you Ms. Tourmaline. It was my pleasure to come." Ruby snorted hearing the unintentional innuendo.

"And happy belated birthday." Sapphire said holding out the box.

"Oh! You got me a present? That's so sweet. You didn't have to." Ms. Tourmaline said, reaching for the gift.

"Well I thought it would be nice."

She took off the lid and took out what was inside. In her hand was a golden broach in the shape of a flower. Pedals were layered on top of a hard base. There was glitter along the edges of each pedal, among it sparkle.

"It's beautiful." Ms. Tourmaline gasped.

"I knew you were going to get a green dress yesterday so I decided to get something that could go with it."

"You are so sweet." The little old woman pulled Sapphire in for a hug.

"Thank you." She pulled back and gave Sapphire a warm smile. "You're welcome any time."

Sapphire left with a smile. She got Ruby's grandmother's approval and she wouldn't have to see Siam for a long time.

 **I am** ** _really_** **trying. I hope this chapter was good. I'm not totally happy with it. I'm going to try to make a Christmas chapter in three days and update maybe on the fourth. It'll be Christmas inmtomorrow. But I don't have school right now for a while so I can update more often.**

 **Please review and comment on this chapter and the others.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Christmas**

 **Part 1; Have Hope Warning: This chapter isn't** ** _as_** **fluffy**

Ruby knew she had to do something special for Sapphire. Sapphire had done so many things for her and Ruby was really starting to feel guilty.

She knew she had to do something that was the equivalent to all that Sapphire's done. But nothing could reach that height of generosity.

Ruby turned in the large bed and faced the star of her thoughts. She pulled the covers higher on her girlfriend's body, trying to keep her warm.

She loved waking up before Sapphire. She got to see a makeup free, peaceful face surrounded by disheveled light blue hair. The first time she saw this side of Sapphire she was surprised but happy. Surprised that Sapphire let her see this side of her, and happy that Sapphire _actually_ let her see this side of her.

Ruby brought her hand up from under the covers and cupped her blue cheek. She smiled when Sapphire turned her head and kissed the palm of Ruby's hand.

"So you're awake?" Ruby asked, caressing Sapphire's cheek with her thumb.

"Mm-mm." Came the groggily answer. Ruby giggled.

"I'm going to get up to make us some breakfast." Ruby was getting ready to get up, but was stopped by a small blue hand wrapping around her wrist.

"Don't go yet, you're warm."

"I knew you were only using me for my body." Ruby said playfully, poking Sapphire's side.

"Yup. Sexy and warm." Sapphire's hand slid up her arm and to her shoulder. She pulled her down and made her lay back down next to her.

"Thanks, but I think you're way sexier. So, I'm not making breakfast now?"

"You're wrong, you're sexier-don't argue-and no, no breakfast. You're laying right here, next to me." Sapphire told her, her eyes still closed.

"First, you're sexier. Second, what if I don't want to?" Ruby played, sitting up again, the covers slipping to her waist and showing her tight tank top.

"You don't have a choice. You're my prisoner, sexy." Sapphire sat up, wrapped her arms around Ruby and pulled her down.

"You're sexier." Ruby said as she fell. Lucky for Ruby, Sapphire didn't hear her so she couldn't argue. That left them laying on the bed, Sapphire's arms wrapped around Ruby, their half-dressed torsos no longer covered by the warm blanket.

They laid there in a comfortable silence before a thought occurred to Ruby.

"Sapph, do you know what day it is?"

"December twenty-fifth. Why?" Ruby smiled. Sapphire always knew the date, even with morning delirium.

Ruby just looked at her expectantly.

"Think harder babe. It's the most wonderful time of the year?"

"Huh? What does that mean…Wait, today's…"

"Merry Christmas." Ruby leaned forward kissing Sapphire.

Sapphire groaned and turned her head away. Ruby laughed, knowing the exact reason. Sapphire seemed to always be self-conscious about her morning breath.

"Sapphire, I don't care what you're breath smells like. Mine probably smells worse than yours. See," To prove her point she opened her mouth and breathed out.

"Ew, Ruby. Okay I get it." Sapphire laughed out, moving a hand from Ruby's back to swat at the bad-breath infested air. Ruby laughed along with her.

"Hey, I don't smell that bad." Ruby jokingly defended, a frown on her face.

"Of course you don't, stinky."

"Whatever. No one should smell good in the morning."

"You're absolutely right." Sapphire rolled over, on top of Ruby. She slid her hands from under the slightly shocked Ruby and put her weight on her forearms.

With her longer body on top of Ruby's, arms on either side of her head, Ruby was trapped. And that excited her.

"So, you gonna kiss me?" Ruby asked, wrapping her arms around Sapphire's neck.

"I don't know if I should. Do you think I should, stinky?" Sapphire played along.

"I think I should get kisses, Ice Princess." Ruby said, firing back a nickname.

"Hey. I thought we were over the whole 'Ice Princess' thing."

"That was when we were teenagers and you got all mad. Now we're woman. So your name _should_ be Ice _Queen_ anyways. But I didn't want to make you feel old."

"I'm not that much older than you." Sapphire deadpanned.

"Okay old lady Ice Queen." She teased.

"Ruby," Sapphire warned.

"Yes old lady?"

"Ruby," Sapphire warned again leaning closer.

"For Christmas I got you a crossword puzzle. I forget, did you need prune juice too?"

"Ruby, if you don't shut up I'll make you." Sapphire growled.

"Aw, what are you gonna do? You gonna pelt me with butterscotch candies?"

"I warned you,"

"Don't throw your back out old la-"

Sapphire sat up so that she was straddling Ruby's hips. She brought her hands down and began to poke Ruby's sides and stomach. From the first poke Ruby started laughing uncontrollably.

"Please stop!" Ruby cried out.

"Are you going to stop calling me an old lady?"

"Never!" Tears started to well up in her eyes.

"Mmm, wrong answer." Her tickling reached Ruby's neck.

She tickled all the spots she knew would make Ruby laugh the most.

"If you don't promise that you'll stop calling me an old lady then this will get ugly, Ruby."

"Th-there's n-nothing else t-to t-t-tickle, o-old-d l-lad-dy!" she yelled through laughter.

"There isn't?" She swung her left leg from over Ruby so that she was sitting on her knees next her. She grabbed Ruby's ankle and brought her other hand to her small foot.

"No, no, please. I'm begging you please!" Ruby pleaded trying to get her ankle out of Sapphire's tight grip.

"Promise me." Sapphire said coolly.

"Okay! Fine! I promise. Just please don't tickle my feet."

Sapphire wore a triumphant smile on her sleepy face. She let go of her ankle and laid herself down next to her tired looking girlfriend.

"Ruby?"

"Yeah?" Ruby sighed out.

"I love you."

"Love you too. Even when you torture me with tickles." She faced Ruby.

"Good, because if you break your promise this will happen again. And I wouldn't want my little Ruby to be mad at me and drive me far away to leave me stranded in a desert."

"I could never stay mad at you long enough to leave you in a desert. Maybe on the street-" Sapphire smacked her arm.

"Ow, I'm just kidding." Ruby giggled.

Suddenly there was a loud knocking at the door.

"Oh! I forgot, Rose was coming over. Can you get the door? I really need to brush my teeth."

"Alright, I'll give Rose a nice whiff of Ruby's homemade morning breath."

Sapphire chortled at the uncaring behavior of her lover.

"Okay, just go open the door, adorkable."

"Okay, beautiful." Ruby shot back.

"Whatever, amazing."

"Okey dokey, sexy."

"Alright, flawless."

"Whatever you say-"

She was interrupted by another knock at the door.

She narrowed her eyes at Sapphire and said, "To be continued," before heading out the bedroom to answer the door.

Sapphire rolled her eyes, a smile on her face, and walked out the bedroom behind Ruby turning down the short hallway to the bathroom.

Ruby, adjusting her tank top and spandex shorts, opened the door.

Rose stood at the door with a smile on her face. Ruby knew that this was normal, but there was something about her smile that didn't seem right to her. It looked kind of nervous.

"Good morning Ruby."

"Morning Rose. Wanna come in?"

"Oh, yeah," Ruby moved out of the way so Rose could step into the apartment.

"So," Rose's smile seemed uneasy, "Where's Sapphire?"

"She's getting ready in the bathroom." Ruby softly closed the door and walked over to Rose. "Are you okay?"

"Of course. Why do you ask?"

"You just seem a little anxious."

"No, I'm alright. But I do need to tell you and Sapphire something. It's important."

"Okay, do you want something to eat?"

"Yes _please_." Rose practically begged.

"What, did you not have breakfast?" Ruby asked, already making her way to the fridge.

"No, I did. I'm still a little hungry though." Rose replied shyly.

"Okay." Ruby decided tried not to dig for information. She thought it would be better when Sapphire got there. She was better at reading people and getting things out of them.

Ruby was scrambling eggs, while Rose sat on Sapphire's couch waiting patiently. Sapphire walked into the room, putting a tube of lip gloss in her purse. She wore a light blue knee length dress with a white collar and a shiny black belt around her waist.

When Ruby noticed her she appreciatively looked her over, like she usually did. Snapping out of it she noticed Sapphire's purse and black heels.

"You're going out?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, sorry my job called a few minutes ago. I have to get there to look over some papers." Sapphire said, walking farther into the room. She saw the nervous looking Rose sitting on her couch and went over to her.

"Good morning Rose."

"Morning." Sapphire found the response very un-Rose-like.

"Hey, you seem different, are you okay?"

"I'm…okay. I just wanted to tell you and Ruby something. But I'll tell you when you get back from work."

"No, it's okay. I still have to eat something anyways," Sapphire looked over to the busy Ruby, "I can never leave without having some Ruby cuisine before I go."

Ruby chuckled, "If you don't have time I'll bring you brunch at your work."

Sapphire felt warm and gooey. Ruby always tries to go out of her way to do things for her and every time she feels like she needs to somehow thank her. Ruby had done that for her once before, but Sapphire felt so guilty and lonely eating in her office that she promised to herself that she'd eat with Ruby in the morning every day. Luckily Ruby hardly ever left her apartment, especially in the morning, so that promise wasn't so hard to keep.

"No, that's okay. I love eating with you." Sapphire said, trying her best not to run over and kiss Ruby. She didn't want to accidently have Ruby burn herself. Ruby did that to herself a lot.

"Okay, well breakfast will be ready shortly."

"Alright, so," Sapphire walked over to the couch Rose was sitting on and sat next to her. "How was your morning?"

"Um, breakfast was okay. It didn't go down well though."

"What do you mean? It didn't taste good?" Sapphire guessed.

"It tasted fine. I just couldn't hold it down for very long."

"You threw up?" Rose softly nodded. "Are you okay?"

"I, I'm fine, just a little hungry."

Sapphire looked at her skeptically.

"Okay," Sapphire was trying her best to try and tell what's going on with Rose but the only thing that came to mind was something she would think Rose would be ecstatic about, not as nervous and edgy as she seemed at that moment.

"I'm sorry if I'm acting a little weird. It's just…I'm having a hard time right now."

"Oh, no, it's okay. You're our friend Rose and we understand that sometimes the most upbeat person can have their bad days. We're here for you."

"Thanks. I really appreciate it."

"Food's done." Ruby walked over with three plates of eggs, bacon, and toast. She held two in her hands and balanced one on her forearm.

She passed the two plates in her hands to Sapphire and Rose and moved the plate on her forearm to her hand. She sat down next to Sapphire.

"Okay, let's eat."

"Um, Ruby there's no utensils."

"Oh, I forget," Ruby snorted. Sapphire thought that was one of the cutest mistakes she's ever witnessed. She thought a lot of things Ruby did were cute. "I'll go get them."

Ruby was about to get up when she was stopped by a blue hand.

"I got it." Sapphire said. She put the plate on the small table in front of her, stood up, and walked over to the kitchen area to get forks.

She opened a drawer next to the oven and pulled out three forks. She turned back around and started walking back to the couch.

"So what do you want to tell us?"

"Well, I, um, there's not an easy way to put this. I'm pregnant."

Sapphire gasped. The forks slipped through her fingers and clattered to the floor.

Ruby just sat there stunned, not sure how to take the news.

Sapphire came out of her shock first. She stepped over the forks and sprinted over to Rose pulling her in for a hug, making sure not to spill the breakfast resting on her lap. Rose hugged her back with less force. Her arms loosely hanging around Sapphire's back.

"That's great! A little baby! How far along are you?" Sapphire asked, pulling back from the hug and standing up straight.

"It's been three months."

Ruby finally spoke up, "How long have you known?"

"About a month?"

"Wow," Ruby sat back into the couch.

"Yeah, it _is_ wow and it _is_ great."

"You don't sound too 'wow' or 'great'." Ruby said, sitting up and looking at Rose strangely.

"Well, that's not all I wanted to tell you. If I have this baby, there could be…consequences."

"What do you mean? Will the baby be disabled or something?"

"No, the baby is doing fine in here. It's, it's me."

Sapphire tried to look into Rose's eyes, but she kept flitting her eyes away, avoiding eye contact.

"So then what do you mean consequences?"

"I might not make it through the birth."

"What? Why?"

"They were using a lot of doctor terms but to sum it all up, I'm not exactly healthy right now."

From the sorrowful look on all their faces they all knew that if the discussion went any further there'd be tears.

"Oh," Ruby and Sapphire said at the same time. Neither really _knew_ how to react. They loved Rose. She was one of their best friends. She encouraged them to get together in high school. She was nothing but amazing. Hearing that she might die to bring a new life into this world made them feel sad. They loved how brave Rose was being, she was always brave.

"I'm sorry, I just sprung this on the both of you. Especially on Christmas. I just needed you to know. And I wanted to ask if you would be Godmothers' to my baby?" Rose looked up hopefully into their eyes.

"Of course." Sapphire immediately answered, her eyes tearing up.

"Ruby?" Rose looked over to Ruby.

"I'd love to." Ruby leaned over and wrapped her arms around Rose's neck.

"Thank you. Thank you both, I hope I didn't ruin your Christmas."

"Of course not. We're happy that you trust us so much. You shared something so personal."

Rose smiled. Sapphire thought this one was way more Rose-like. Sapphire smiled back as nicely as she could. She felt like crying. Her best friend who she knew from when she was little was having a baby. She asked her and her girlfriend to be that baby's Godmothers'. She might die in six months.

It was so overwhelming. She just wanted to curl in a ball and cry alone. She wanted to forget about all the things around her and just fall into a dark place. But she knew Ruby wouldn't let her slip into that dark place. But she didn't know exactly how Ruby was feeling.

And she couldn't imagine how Rose was feeling.

"Well," Sapphire said, a fake happy smile on her face, "I'll get those forks," she looked behind her and down at the fallen forks, "And put those in the sink."

Rose let out a little giggle. Ruby put a tight smile on, so she wouldn't seem as doleful as she felt.

Shortly after she said it, Sapphire came back with three new forks after dropping the old ones in the sink. She handed Ruby and Rose their forks and picked her plate up off the table, sitting down carefully next to Ruby again, so not to spill anything on her plate.

"So," Rose started casually, "How were both of your mornings?"

"Oh," Ruby decided to answer seeing that Sapphire was silently eating, seeming somewhat distant, "It was…interesting. I called Sapphire an old lady and then she got all defensive and decided to tickle me as punishment."

"Your mornings sound exciting." Rose replied with a bright smile.

"Always." Ruby returned it.

They all sat quietly eating their breakfast. Ruby glanced at both of them, slowly chewing the crunchy bacon. None of them were over the news, but no one really seemed to want to talk about.

Sapphire seemed to be the most affected. She was eating slowly, sloppily. Sapphire was slouching, which was most definitely weird for her. She always sat up straight and ate with her mouth closed.

She was acting so different from how she usually did. That scared Ruby. If Sapphire was this sad now, she couldn't imagine what she'd be like if her best friend wasn't in her life anymore. She didn't want to imagine it.

Rose practically swallowed her food whole, finishing before both Ruby and Sapphire.

"That was a great breakfast Ruby. Thank you."

"Thanks, and you're welcome." Ruby said,

Rose got up from the couch and began to make her way to the kitchen, a cleared plate in her hand.

Ruby rose along with her and caught up with her. She swiftly took the plate out of Rose's hand.

"I'll get that." Ruby walked the rest of the way to sink and carefully placed the plate in.

They both walked back over to the couch and sat down.

Right when Rose sat down a loud buzz was heard. Rose rose off the couch a bit in an awkward position and reached into her back pocket. She pulled out a red phone and then sat comfortably back down on the couch.

Looking down at the phone's screen she smiled. This smile was genuine. Bright, like they usually were.

"It's Greg," she explained. She pressed the screen and put the phone up to her ear. Ruby and Sapphire heard muffled speaking on the other end.

"Oh, okay. Well I'm at Sapphire's apartment, and yes, before you ask, I ate breakfast. And I told them."

Muffled talking.

"They took it pretty well."

More muffled talking.

"Okay, I'll be right there. Bye." Rose took the phone from her ear and pressed her finger on the screen again, hanging up.

She looked over at Ruby and Sapphire, an apologetic smile on her face.

"I have to go. I have a doctor's appointment." She stood up.

"Alright, bye. Update when you can." Sapphire spoke up.

"I'll tell you as soon as I know."

Ruby got up, putting her plate on the table, and she walked over to the door.

"Have a good day at work Sapphire. Bye Ruby."

Rose walked out the door as Ruby opened it.

Once Rose was out the door Ruby closed it and hurried over to her distressed girlfriend.

"Sapphire," she kneeled in front of her, trying to look into her eyes.

"I'm fine. I just want to finish my breakfast."

"Sapphire, it's going to be okay." Ruby got up from her kneel and sat on the couch. She put a hand to Sapphire's slouching back.

"You don't know that."

"I know I don't. I don't know any more than you do. But we should have hope. Rose is our best friend. She wouldn't want us to be sad. Especially when she's still here with us. And you know she doesn't like when we treat her differently. I remember when she sprained her ankle and she hopped around the room trying to get away from us while we chased her with her crutches. She just kept saying, 'I can walk by myself, I can walk!'"

Sapphire let out a little giggle. But it wasn't like the ones Ruby was used to hearing. The happy, bright one that lit up her day.

"Listen, I know this is hard for you. It's hard for me too. And I know you've known her for a long time. But we have to show our support for Rose. Before and after the pregnancy."

"What if," Sapphire sniffled and wiped her nose, hiding her face. "What if she has the baby and doesn't make it? And then every time…every time I look at that baby. I feel like I'll see Rose."

"That's not a bad thing."

"But what if I start resenting the baby. Blaming him or her."

"There's no one to blame. We don't know what'll happen. Rose doesn't know. She's taking a huge risk. And she's counting on us to keep everything intact if she can't."

"I really thought this Christmas would go differently."

Ruby snorted. "I wish it did. But I'm happy that you were here with me."

"Me too. I wish everyday was like this. Minus the news."

"Me too."

"Ruby?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being you."

Ruby raised her eyebrow, confused, "You're welcome?"

Sapphire laughed for real this time. Lightening Ruby's mood.

Ruby slid her arm around Sapphire's shoulders and pulled her into her side.

"I love you."

Sapphire rested her head on Ruby's shoulder.

"I love you too. And know that I'll be there for you too Ruby."

"I know. You're awesome."

"You're awesome."

"So I guess that makes us both awesome."

"It would only make sense."

"I guess it would."

They sat in silence, letting their food get cold.

Sapphire didn't want to ruin this wonderful, peaceful silence. She felt so sad. She felt like the world was slowly crashing down around her. She felt like crawling into that dark, lonely, scary place. But she knew that there was a possibility that Rose could survive, and until the day of the birth she would have hope. She would try not to worry too much. She would try to be there for Rose, and Ruby, and the rest of her friends.

She turned her face into Ruby's neck and smiled.

"I think I'll look over those papers tomorrow."

"Good, because I could really use some cuddle time." Ruby pulled Sapphire closer.

"Christmas is a good time to stay in and cuddle."


End file.
